"We have shown that people can be 'cruel to be kind' - that is, they may decide to make someone feel worse if this emotion is beneficial for that other person, even if this does not entail any personal benefit for them," psychological scientist Belén López-Pérez, a lead researcher on the study, explained.

"We identified several everyday examples where this might be the case," he continued. "For instance, inducing fear of failure in a loved one who is procrastinating instead of studying for an exam."